Community Guidelines

Community Guidelines

Some (though not all) FORUM posts are opened to public comment. To ensure that everyone has an enjoyable time on this site, we ask you to follow a few basic ground rules when commenting on the site. These guidelines outline what we consider to be acceptable and unacceptable. For full details please refer to the Terms. We may update these guidelines from time to time, so please check back from time to time.

We welcome your opinions

A chief aim of the postmedieval FORUM is to encourage debate on pressing topics in the humanities. Express your opinions and where appropriate support them with evidence and facts. You can express a strong opinion but please respect others’ opinions too.

Be yourself

Use a WordPress, Twitter or Facebook account registered under your real and full name when posting comments. Never impersonate another person or post anonymously. If you have a personal connection to a story or topic, you should disclose your connection or, where appropriate, not comment at all. Note that your first comment will be screened so we can ascertain that you are a real person; after this you will be able to comment without screening.

Have fun

Read the FORUM essays, comment on open posts and invite your friends to join the conversation.

Remember this is a public forum

Once your comment is online, everyone with Internet access may be able to read it. Don’t forget that you are legally responsible for what you submit. Please consider how your comment could be received by others. Please make your comment clear to ensure that it is not misunderstood. Many different types of people of different ages may view your comment.

Cite your sources

Attribute quotes and paraphrased comments to their proper sources.

Stay focused on the humanities and research

This is a website about matters of relevance to postmedieval, the humanities, and the research community more widely. There are many other websites you can use to discuss other topics. Please keep within the bounds of a topic as initiated. Do not sway the discussion towards your own pet topic or set off on a tangent.

Contribute new information to the discussion

Add a unique perspective, a constructive argument, a thoughtful question or new information. Read the comments in a discussion thread before posting your own so you don’t repeat what’s already been said. If you find factual errors, politely point them out and explain why you believe that the statements are wrong.

No libel or other abuse

You must not make or encourage comments which are:

defamatory, false or misleading;

insulting, threatening or abusive;

obscene or of a sexual nature;

offensive, racist, sexist, homophobic or discriminatory against any religions or other groups.

Report inappropriate comments

We strongly support the postmedieval community in maintaining high standards of participation. If you consider that a comment does not comply with these Guidelines or our Terms, please report the comment to us. Reporting should only be used for serious complaints, not simply because you disagree with something.

Watch your language

Please be polite. Do not use profane, crude or sexual language. Don’t engage in emotional flame wars.

Don’t sell or promote stuff

The FORUM is an open access site; please don’t abuse it to promote products.

Don’t post essays or reports

The postmedieval FORUM publishes collections of short, commissioned essays on a theme. Please do not abuse the comment options to self-publish papers or reports.

Don’t infringe copyright

If you want to upload a copy of an image, text or any other content, make sure you have the right to reproduce them on the postmedieval FORUM. Posting copyright material without permission may be unlawful. If you want to discuss a paper or news story, summarize it in your own words.

Don’t post inappropriate links

You should only post links to another website if the content on that other site abides with these Guidelines and our Terms.

Don’t violate someone else’s privacy

You can post personal and contact information about yourself if you really want (but do remember this is a public forum), but don’t post anyone else’s personal details or contact information.

Removing inappropriate content

Reader comments that violate the letter or spirit of these Guidelines or our Terms may be removed (or, if moderated in advance, may not be published in the first place). If we do remove something, we will generally remove whole posts, or where necessary, whole threads (not parts). This means that even if only one sentence is objectionable, the whole comment will usually be removed (or not published). Sometimes, a comment may be removed because it is connected to another comment which is being removed.

If your content has been removed, we may email you to let you know or to inform you if you have been suspended or banned from submitting further comments to the site.

If you are aware that content has been removed, you must not deliberately resubmit the same content.